This October marks the first anniversary of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023. When it came into force on 26 October 2024, the legislation marked a significant shift in workplace law by introducing a proactive legal duty for all employers – regardless of size – to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment before it happens.
This represented a significant shift in addressing workplace sexual harassment. Employers are no longer judged only on how they respond once harassment has occurred, but on the extent to which they have actively prevented the risk of it happening in the first place. Tribunals now have the power to uplift compensation awards by up to 25% where employers are found in breach, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can enforce compliance.
Early indicators suggest the shift created by the Worker Protection Act is already having an impact. Acas call data showed a 39% rise in harassment-related enquiries in the first half of 2025 compared with the previous year (with calls up from 4,001 to 5,583 in the first six months of 2025, compared to the same period the previous year). While it’s still too early to measure the full effect in tribunal outcomes, the figures show both awareness and reporting are on the rise.
What’s Next Under the Employment Rights Bill?
The upcoming Employment Rights Bill will raise expectations further, with key measures including:
- April 2026: Reporting sexual harassment will be covered by whistleblowing legislation, strengthening protections for staff.
- October 2026: Employers must take “ALL reasonable steps” to prevent harassment – significantly raising the bar.
- October 2026: Liability for harassment will extend to third parties, such as customers and suppliers.
- Future change: Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) will no longer be permitted to silence disclosures of harassment or discrimination.
The addition of “ALL” is critical. While the definition will evolve through consultation and tribunal rulings, it is already clear that employers cannot afford to treat compliance as a one-off exercise.
Why Compliance Alone Isn’t Enough
At LimeCulture, we see this new duty as so much more than a compliance requirement. It is a real opportunity to build safer cultures within the workplace. Meeting the duty means more than rolling out a policy or a single training event – it requires a deep, embedded culture shift.
LimeCulture believes that this culture shift involves creating and embedding the following key pillars:
- Visible leadership commitment and accountability.
- Clear expectations of behaviour, that are consistently reinforced through clear systems, policies and procedures.
- Regular and interactive training (not one-off presentations) and ongoing development.
- Safe, confidential, and trusted reporting processes.
- Trauma-informed responses to disclosures & the provision of support
- Timely and fair investigation and resolution processes
- Risk governance arrangements for identifying, managing and escalating risk in sexual misconduct or safeguarding cases
- Ongoing monitoring to ensure lessons are learned, improvements are embedded and progress is sustained.
Crucially, employees must feel confident that, if they raise concerns, they will be heard, supported, and taken seriously.
The Role of Leadership
One of the biggest barriers we see is lack of leadership buy-in. Too often, responsibility is left to HR. But preventing harassment and misconduct must be treated as an organisational priority, owned and driven by the organisation’s most senior leaders.
Leaders should:
- Model respectful behaviour at every level.
- Allocate resources for prevention and response initiatives.
- Be held accountable through performance measures and consequences.
- Ensure transparency about how cases are handled and lessons learned.
It is worth remembering: if reports increase, this should be seen as progress. Rising disclosures reflect greater trust in the organisation to respond appropriately. Conversely, an absence of reports often signals a lack of trust – not the absence of misconduct.
Building a Safer Culture
To prepare for the Employment Rights Bill and to meet current obligations, organisations should be taking steps now, including:
- Commissioning external assessments of organisational culture, policies, and processes.
- Reviewing and simplifying policies so they are clear, accessible, and consistently applied.
- Training HR advisers, investigators, and panel members in trauma-informed approaches.
- Equipping all employees with tools to challenge inappropriate behaviour and report concerns safely.
- Using data – from surveys, exit interviews, and case trends – to monitor and continuously improve.
How LimeCulture Can Help
At LimeCulture, we believe every organisation has the power to create environments where people feel safe, respected, and are able to thrive. Through our training and consultancy services, we help organisations move beyond compliance to genuine culture change. Our training is designed to be engaging, interactive, and empowering—giving staff and leaders the confidence to act when it matters most. We work with organisations to create systems and processes that are not just legally sound, but also rooted in compassion, fairness, and best practice.
When sexual misconduct occurs, we stand alongside organisations to ensure responses are timely, transparent, and trauma-informed, supporting all those affected. More than anything, we help organisations build trust, strengthen values, and embed behaviours that reflect their commitment to dignity and respect for every individual.
Organisations must honour their responsibilities and create lasting change that truly transforms their workplace culture. LimeCulture can help organisations to create and embed a safer culture—it is more than just compliance, it is about building workplaces where people feel safe.
For more information about our Safer Cultures work, please visit our website
Get in touch:
📧 Email: info@limeculture.co.uk
📞 Phone: +44 (0)203 633 0018